Not just a matter of choice

Both legalisation and decriminalisation talk about protecting prostitutes from
police harassment, as well as guarding their right of choice. But they have so far
failed to address the issue of vulnerability of the women in the sex trade.
Asha Ramesh
notes different voices in the debate over what the legal stance towards
prostitution should be.

(WFS):
Last month, Saheli - a well-known feminist group in Delhi - organised a dialogue on
the theme, 'The Women's Movement and Our Troubled Relationship with Prostitution', to mark the
completion of 23 years of its existence. Gender rights activists, students, academicians,
mediapersons and representatives from women's organisations and NGOs congregated to deliberate on
this complex and large - there are an estimated three million women in sex work in about 400 red
light areas in India, approximately 30 per cent are children; a majority are dalits and tribals -
issue.

The definition and understanding of prostitution has been changing in the women's movement, as the movement itself is not a homogeneous one.
The traditional position has been that prostitution is female sexual slavery; its logical conclusion has been that the practice should be abolished.
Feminists and the women's movement have raised their voice assertively on issues such as a woman's control over her body, and raising their concerns about the 'commodification' of women's bodies. Kathleen Barry in her book, 'Sexual Slavery', speaks of women in prostitution who are victims of violence of the worst form, including rape and abuse. For most, sex and sexuality remains savage carnal abuse of their bodies, over which they have no control.

But in recent years, many women activists have argued for legalisation of prostitution, as the present law continues to be insensitive, and harassment from the enforcement agencies - who see it as an illegal activity - continues. Once legalised, the advocates claim, women in sex work will not be harassed by the police; they will be allowed to work in certain zones and issued licenses; their names will be in government records; they will have to undergo regular health check-ups; and pay taxes.

However, an equally strong lobby has been countering this demand, saying that in the Indian context, legalisation will not work, and may result in further trafficking of young girls and boys. Further, legalisation will only make women in sex work more vulnerable to state control.

The advocates of the somewhat recent rights-based approach talk of decriminalisation of prostitution. Decriminalisation is understood as the removal of laws against prostitution.
Several voices at the Saheli meeting were strongly in favour of decriminalisation. Meenu Seshu of Sangram, an organisation in Maharashtra working with women in sex work, strongly advocated that prostitution be treated as a matter of choice, like any other job. Shabana of Vaishaya AIDS Mukabala Parishad (VAMP), a collective of women in sex work, supported Sangram's position.

Women in sex work have organised themselves in Sonagachi (West Bengal) and in Sangli (Maharashtra) to demand their rights and to counter police harassments. The fact that they are organised has helped them to some extent in negotiating the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV infection.

Interestingly, the campaign for the rights of women in sex work coincided with the appearance of
HIV/AIDS in the country (the first case of HIV infection was detected in 1986). Women in sex work
were categorised as high-risk groups and several interventions were initiated. Efforts to introduce mandatory testing met with strong condemnation from the women's movement, which raised a furore, saying that such testing amounted to a violation of women's human rights.

The notion of 'choice' in decriminalisation still needs to be more clearly articulated. Some advocates of decriminalisation declared at the meeting that a woman doing sex work is the same as a woman carrying bricks at a construction site. Such comparisons, however, can be misleading. Prostitution is not labour, it is a violation of human rights. Besides, it is often rape. It is intrinsically harmful and traumatic. For almost everyone in the profession, prostitution is not about having made a choice out of a range of other available livelihood options.

Lalitha S A, an activist who works with women in a red light area of Delhi,
questioned the existence of choice for women in sex work. She was not aware of even a single woman
in sex work who wanted her daughter to enter the trade. According to Lalitha, most of these women put their children in boarding schools, if they can afford it, or leave them with their families back in the village. Most of them have come into sex work either by deceit or have been forced, cheated, kidnapped, deserted or raped into the sex trade.

Finally, it seems that whether it is legalisation or decriminalisation of prostitution, it is a no-win situation for the women, especially in brothel-based sex work. While legalisation would lead to exploitation by authorities who issue licences etc, decriminalisation would not free prostitutes from the clutches of pimps and brothel-owners.

Activists like Lalitha say that the immediate concern should be how to address the rights of such women. While both legalisation and decriminalisation talk about protection from police harassment and the right of choice, they have so far failed to address the issue of vulnerability of women in the sex trade, she says. "We need to create a climate for women where they are not sexually exploited and there is no violence against them. Most women in sex trade today are exploited. A very, very small number is there as a matter of choice."

While the activists, in all good faith, continue to argue, the objects of their concern are yet to get involved in the debate. What do women in sex work want? How do they view prostitution - as remunerative labour or as a trade which they have joined as a result of poverty, rape, desertion and trafficking? These are vexed questions. Women's rights activists need to put forth clearly the consequences of the different positions being taken. And the voices of women in sex work, at least those who are organised, need to be brought into the debate.

The groups addressing this issue need to build alliances across other social movements so that the issue of women in prostitution is viewed as a larger social concern and not the exclusive responsibility of women's rights activists in the women's movement.

India Together offers an excellent forum for people from diverse fields of expertise to present their views, share their experiences and raise questions about where our country and society are headed in the future.

Amitabha Basu

Retired Scientist

National Physical

Laboratory

India Together reader

India Together offers an excellent forum for people from diverse fields of expertise to present their views, share their experiences and raise questions about where our country and society are headed in the future.

I urge all democratic-minded individuals to road, contribute to and publicise the e-newsletters from India Together. All power and success to India Together staff for their excellent and vital contribution to our society!